Cartridge-guide for firearms.



APPLICATION FILED MIG-22,1916,

Patented Feb. 19, 1918,

. E3 nvenfoz STATE$ PATENT OFFICE. NELSOE, OF UTICA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB. '10 SAVAGE ARMS C IOBPOBATION,

- 1 A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

To all whom it'may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. NELSON,

a United States citizen, residing in Utica,

New York, have invented the following-described" Improvement in Cartridge Guides for Firearms.

This invention is animprovement in cartridge feedin mechanism for fire-arms and more particu arly that type of fire-arm in which .the cartridges are advanced sidewise from a laterally moving cartridge supply or carrier into the path of mechanism operating to push them'endwise into the barrel, such for example, as the well known Sava e- Lewis machine gun in which the cartri ge magazine rotates step by step over'the breech mechanism and the cartri ges are carried into contact with a yielding cam mechanism forcing them successively downward into the path of the breech bolt, by which theyare thrust endwise into the chamber ,when the bolt moves forwardly to closed position.

In McLean Patents Nos. 1,042,363 and 1,042,135 spring-pressed plungers are employed to depress the cartridges. The construction involves an endwise bodily move- .ment of the entire plunger member on each operation and the dimensions necessary for such plungers to operate effectively are of such magnitude that the speed of movementis therefore limited and the vibration of its very considerable mass transversely of the axis of the .gun interferes with aiming. Furthermore, it is only with difiiculty that the plunger member can be removed in case of reakage or wear. Attempts to overcome these and other objections have involved the substitution of an inclined leaf spring yields eventual fracture, merely ing substantially upwardl as the cartridge is forced therebeneath and such a spring is highly satisfactory so long as it retains its original form and character but the complexity of the strains to which it is sub ect brings about an early deterioration and as the result of continued normal operatlon and this is not avoided by exercising the greatest care in i the manufacture and tempering of the tridge directing member possessing the advantage of small mass and low lnertia,

spring.

The present invention conslsts m a carwhich is the principal merit of the described spring, together wlth a maximum resistance to wear and constant vibration to'enable it Specification of Letters Patent- Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Application filed August 22, 1910-. Serial No. 116,230."

sidewise-moving cartridge and adequately supported to sustain the thrust therefrom and also by means of a spring which acts on the said member to press it and the cartridge riding under it, downwardly into the breech casing, the spring-yielding functions being thus entirely separated from the wear and thrust-resisting functions of the mechanism. The spring itself, which may be an ordinary helical spring, is'p'rotected in this relation, from the sidewise t rust of the cartridge and is free from localized distortion tending to crystallize it. It acts only in the direction in which it is desired to move the cartridge. The cam-faced finger swings ver: tically and by virtue of its pivotal mounting is properly and satisfactoril made of very light we ght and of materia best suited to resist the vibration and wear to which it is subject. It is readily designed moreover so that it may be easily and quickly inserted and removed and without the use of special tools when necessary.

Although my invention is particularly applicable to the Savage-Lewis machine gun above referred to, it will be evident that 1t may, by obvious change in form be ap lied to other types of guns where similar 0 Jeotions are to be overcome, or where it may be employed with advantage.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment for the i also the magazine and some cartridges;

Fig. 4 is aside elevation of the cam-faced finger in its holder;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the holder;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the finger;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan thereof; and

Fig. 8 illustrates the removable lockmg tion toward the end of the groove and exit of the magazine. Pivotally mounted upon the post 2 is a cartridge feeding arm 5, the

rear part 6 of which is curved and provided I with a cam slot engaged by an upstand ng projection 7 on a part'of' the reciprocating breech mechanism. The action of the latter swings the arm back 'and forth on the post 2 as a center and in its movement in one direction (upward in Fig. 1) its dog 8 engages'the rotatable shell part 4 of the magazine to advance it one step in a clockwise direction.

-The' feeding arm 5 has acartridge slot 9 directly beneath the magazine and adapted to coincide with the exit point thereof as it swings to the position indicated in Fig. 1. Each cartridge, advancing downwardly from the magazine exit into this slot is carried laterally by it, sliding on the surface 10 to a positiondirectly above the axis of the barrel where it rests in a slot 11 in the upper art of the breech bolt chamber 12, protru ing more orless into said chamber .as shown at 13 (Fig. 3.) In this position the head of the cartridge is engaged by the advancing breech bolt and pushed forwardly to a wlder part of the entrance 11, whereby it 'is caused to drop directly in front of the bolt for entry into the barrel chamber. The

"foregoing construction and mode of operation is well known to the art. I The rear end of the cartridge feeding arm 5 is normally covered by a plate 14,

. shown broken away for convenience, in Figs.

1 and 2 andan extension 14 of this plate forms the support for the finger or cartridge guide to which my invention pertains, al-

though other supports could be found for fsaid guide if necessary; By means of the extension 14 it is held directly over and opposed to the entrance 11 to the bolt chamber.

The finger holder 15, shaped substan- .tially as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is set in-this extension 14 by means of a- T-headonthe former and an undercut groove in the'latterand is thereby held with its open side downward and directly over the rear. parts of the cartridges which, as above stated,

move'sidewis'e beneath it. i The holder is desirably curved concentrically to the ma zine pivot 2 and has a. roof part and two s1de pivot or retaining pin 17, the latter being inserted through the side wall. I This retaining pin is provided with a handle part marked 17, normally disposed on the forward side of the holder, and the end of the handle part 17 a is bent at an angle to the main part 17 so that it may be turned or snapped'mto a correspondingly inclined notch 17 b in the holder side wall. 7 The pin is thereby locked in placeby virtue of the acute incllnation of the notch 17 with reference to the general direction of withdrawal of the pin from the holderbut it can be instantly removed by springing the bent over end but of the notch as will be evident. I

The free end of the finger 16 is upturned and provided with a rounded nose 16 at the junction of the upturned-end and the body part, this formation providing a proper directing or cam face" which the cartridges may encounter. urged downwardly by the helical spring 18 which seats against a boss on the roof part of the holder and in a socket or recess on the upper side of the finger. As apparent in Fig. 3 the spring 18 urges the finger downwardly and thereby depresses the car- ;tridge (13) into the entrance to, the bolt chamber giving it its direction while the boltadvances it into the barrel. While the pin 17 constitutes a pivot for the finger it is desirably made with an easy fit in the hub part thereof so that it does not receive the end thrust imparted to the finger from the cartridges. Such thrust is imparted lengthwise through the finger to its tail piece 16 which finds a very solid abutment against, the end wall 15 of the holder, as shown in Fig. 4,

and without impeding its swinging movement. The lateral thrust on the cam finger,

such as results from the forward movementof the cartridge while engaged with thelfingel, is resisted by the forward side wall of the holder 15 and with this disposition of Its oscillating free end is endwise and lateral abutment it will be plain that the finger itself may be made of extremely light mass as shown in'the drawings. The action of the spring 18 is merely one of compression and expansion and is always in the direction of its own axis so that it is therefore capable of a practically infinite number of operations without deterioratlon. Fig. 3 illustrates the finger in its uppermost position, with the thrust taken on the abutment face 15 and with the spring compressed and exerting its pressure through the finger upon the cartridge, the

latter being shown injtheposition it holds 7 as the breech mechanism begins its closing movement.

a It will be understood that the principle of this invention as'exemplified bythe above described and as herein fully explained, may also be utilized in other forms than that illustrated and that various modi fications and changes in the proportions and relative arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departing from this invention.

Claims:

1. In a fire-arm, the combination of a reciprocating breech bolt, a receiver having an opening in the upper side through which cartridges may be fed,'means for delivering cartridges transversely of the receiver to its opening, and a spring-pressed finger pivoted to swing upwardly out of the path of the cartridges as they approach said opening and serving to guide them during their movement into said opening. M

2. In a fire-arm of the kind described, the

combination of a breech-bolt chamber, a magazine and means for transferring cartridges laterally therefrom to the entrance to said chamber, of a cartridge guiding and depressing member associated with said entrance, and comprising a rigid' finger held against movement in the direction of the thrust of the moving cartridge and a spring acting on said finger and permitting movement of the latter in a direction at an angle to the direction of thrust.

3. In a fire-arm the combination with a breech-bolt chamber, a magazine and automatic means for transferring cartridges from the latter to the entrance of said cham ber, of a cartridge guiding member opposed to said entrance and comprising a holder, a swinging cam-faced finger confined therein and sustained thereby against endwise and lateral thrust of the cartridges and a spring interposed between the holder and finger and free from the thrust strains on said parts.

4. In a fire-arm, the combination of a receiver having a cartridge-entrance opening ram-faced finger pivoted at the far side of the opening and movable upwardly by the engagement of a cartridge beneath the free end thereof to permit the cartridge to enter said opening.

6. In a fire-arm, the combination of a cartridge feeding mechanism, a movable magazine, a cover plate for said mechanism, having a forward extension beneath said magazine and a cartridge guiding finger pivotally supported at the end of said extension and extending in the general direction of movement of said magazine, and a holder for said finger.

7. In a fire-arm, a cartridge directing member mounted to swing on a loose pivot, a fixed abutment to sustain the thrust on said member during the swinging movement, and a spring pressing the said member toward the path of the cartridges. 4 8. A fire-arm having a cartridge guide in the path of movement of the cartridges, one end of said guide having an endwise abutment and the other being free to oscillate and a spring engaging the said free end to press the same against the cartridges.

9. A fire-arm having a swinging and spring-pressed finger in the path of movement of the cartridges, and a retaining pin therefor, said pin having an extension at one end thereof, at an acute angle to the general direction of the withdrawal of said pin and rotatable about the latter as an axis into and out of locking engagement with a co-acting part to prevent or permit endwise movement of said pin.

10. In a fire-arm, the combination of a holder including a top wall, side walls and inwardly directed flanges at the free edges of the latter, a finger pivotally mounted be tween said side walls and movable between said top wall and said flanges and having an upturned end forming a cam-face in the path of movement of the cartridges, and a spring intermediate of said top wall and said member. 7

11. In an automatic gun of the kind, described, a magazine rotating over the entrance to the breech-bolt chamber, an open bottomed holder held between the magazine and chamber, a cartridge directing finger carried'by said holder and a spring Within the holder urging the finger downwardly toward the said chamber entrance.

12. In an automatic gun of the kind described, a magazine rotating over the entrance to the breech-bolt chamber, means for transferring cartridges laterally into said entrance, a light finger opposed to said entrance and mounted to receive the thrust from the cartridges in the direction of its ownlongitudinal axis, and a spring separate from said finger acting thereon transversely to said axis and adapted to depress cartridges into the said entrance.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

CHARLES A. NELSON. 

